Bays rally back against Panthers

BRIMLEY — It might be a little early to consider games as "must wins", but for Brimley that was the mindset Thursday night.

The Bays came away with the win, but had to scratch their way back from an early 14-point deficit and rally down the stretch to pull out a 68-66 triumph over Pickford in an Eastern U.P. Conference boys basketball game at the Karl Parker Gym.

Dakota Bowen scored 24 points and Shane Beaune had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Bays (6-1 overall, 1-1 EUPC) who stayed one game behind conference-leading Cedarville, and tied with Pickford and DeTour in the standings.

"The kids stepped up at the end and we were kind of lucky to get away with a win," Brimley coach Matt Bathey said. "I told our team before the game that it was a must win. We can't lose any more league games, especially at home, and still expect to have a chance."

Pickford led most of the way but couldn't protect its lead in the closing minute. The Panthers were up 66-61 after Jake Robinson made one of three free throws with 1:31 to play.

But the Bays scored the final seven points. Jason Aikens made a basket and two free throws, and sophomore R.J. Carrick gave the Bays a 67-66 lead after a steal and layup with 22 seconds remaining.

After a Panther turnover, Carrick converted one of two free throws with 2.6 seconds left. Pickford's Phil Coullard collected the rebound miss, and unleashed a final halfcourt shot, but it came after the buzzer and missed anyway.

"We dug deep and made some plays when we needed them," Bathey said. "R.J. made that steal and scored to put us up, and then hit the free throw. Sometimes just a couple little things can make the difference."

Robinson finished with 14 points, while Jarred Lavigne and Jonathan McBain had nine apiece. Coullard and Jack Slater had eight points each for the Panthers (3-2, 1-1).

"It was a tough one to take on the chin," Pickford coach Drew Paquin said. "I thought for the most part we did some good things, but we couldn't take it to the end. We couldn't finish it.

"It would be nice to take some growing pains with a win," Paquin said. "But it doesn't always work that way. Gaining experience and learning to make good decisions doesn't come easy. When we look back at this game, we'll see we have a lot of work to do on defense. If our defense picks up, we'll be able to compete with all the teams we play. But we have to go back to the drawing board on defense."

Brimley got off to a slow start for a second straight game. The Panthers used their 2-2-1 press effectively and ran off to a 24-13 first quarter lead. Pickford led by as many as 14 points but the Bays got back within 37-34 by halftime.

"The last two games we've struggled," Bathey said. "I don't know if it was because of the break or what. We need to figure out how to stop that real quick."

The Bowen and Beaune tandem carried the Bays in the second half. Bowen scored 11 of the Bays' 13 points in the third quarter, while Beaune notched 11 points in the fourth. Dan Lothrop led the Bays in rebounding with 11 and also blocked three shots, while Jayson Aikens dished out six assists.

"This was Dakota's breakout game and he carried us at times," Bathey said. "As did Shane in the fourth."